Fighting On
by KiahTrickster
Summary: Their new world is their home and the leaders of Terra Nova and their allies will do all they can to prevent history repeating. Though a great deal remains unknown, about this world and all that lies within it. A crime of the past unites Terra Nova's allies in an effort to discover their planet and overcome their enemies. Set after Fighting for a Second Chance and Back to Basics.
1. Chapter 1

This is the third story in my Terra Nova series, set after both Fighting for a Second Chance and Back to Basics

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended, all characters belong to the respective writers and producers. I write for fun

 **Terra Nova: Fighting On**

 **Prologue**

Sara Cairn hated being off colony, she liked the security of the fence, the high stone wall that surrounded the horticultural plots where she worked; and the Taylors prowling around. Dr. Wallace didn't appreciate their interference, but he didn't listen to them either; he didn't like to listen to anyone. If he did she wouldn't be stuck out here for a month.

A day trip with a security team was one thing but living on an outpost for weeks on end was terrifying. The buildings were surrounded by a fence, but she was sure there were some freaky predators that could go through or under it.

The bunks were set at the back of the compound, at the opposite side from the horticultural plots. In the dark forty feet seemed like a mile, and her little lamp did nothing but illuminate the uneven ground a foot or two in front of her.

Sara put her head down and hustled, a sound beside her made her turn and something struck her cheek and as she stumbled back stunned as hands grabbed at her. Before she knew it, the man was running, hauling her along with him, and as she started to scream it was too late. The fence scraped her shoulder as he ran, darkness enveloped her, and she struggled against him.

…

Alicia rode shot gun in the rhino delivering supplies to outpost four. Guzman oversaw off colony operations, but right now he was based out at outpost nine. It was the newest outpost they had built, and it was based nearest to their northern border and their enemies.

Two sixer girls had been abducted last week, they hadn't been recovered, and more than one supply run had been hit in the past few weeks. No losses but the colony couldn't afford to lose any of the supplies they shipped, and the soldiers needed a moral boost. They needed to know a hard fight didn't mean they didn't have the skills to win. It meant they were going against mercenaries who were much more hardened than they were.

The men were from her generation of soldier, they knew war in a way these kids didn't. That they hadn't lost a run yet was a testament to the kid's skills, and the state of the Phoenix. What was concerning was that there were more than just mercenaries in the squads. They had wondered if the ex sixers had teamed up with them, but descriptions indicated the Phoenix guides were more like the seagoers; Blade was sure it was the pirates.

She liked night supply runs, their tech had been seriously downgraded in the time since the portal closed nearly two years ago but they still had a little more than the Phoenix and it made running at night a little earlier. It worked for her, Alicia had tucked Cullen into bed before she geared up to join the run, and if all went to plan she would be home before he woke in the early hours for a feeding.

As they rolled along the darkened trail she took in the night air and enjoyed being OTG. Since Cullen's birth she hadn't been off colony until last week and her son was nearly six months old. It felt good to be out, felt good to have a challenge.

They rounded the bend and came up on approach to the compound, she could see lights up, but it was strange that the whole fence was lit; it looked like everyone was up. Alicia frowned, she expected the security team to be out, they would handle offloading and storing the supplies being delivered.

As they pulled in she heard voices calling for Sara, frowning she slung her body out of the rolling transport and headed for a soldier she knew. "Yantze what is going on?"

"A girl went missing, never made it back to the bunks tonight; patrol found a hole in the fence. A couple of the other science interns thought they heard screaming. We did a head count Sara Cairn is missing." The soldier explained as her crew poured out of the rhino at the gate.

"Tate, on my six. Yantze with me." Alicia moved along the fence. "Who is out here?"

"Everyone." The young man shrugged, and Alicia winced.

"Have security pull them back now." Any trail was compromised now, she could accept that but as she passed a pair of searchers barely out of their twenties she winced.

"We need all they eyes we can get." Yantze hesitated as she paused, a familiar clicking sound.

Wash froze, her eyes scanning the jungle beyond the fence, the jungle that they had many unarmed and untrained scientists and kids wandering around in. Yantze was young, this was his first command assignment, he was the operations officer, but he didn't see the risks he was putting the civilians in. And she didn't see the post CO out here.

The clicking came from her right again and Alicia drew her tranq gun, a dead pulse gun had been retrofitted with strong tranq darts. Skye Tate copied her, looking around to try and figure out what she was looking for. Suddenly a raptor burst through the trees, she fired three shots quickly, one catching the creature's neck, the dart made it turn on her.

Skye drained her clip, Alicia held her ground as it advanced watching as the previous targets scrambled for cover. The drugs took effect and about five feet from them the raptor dropped. Behind her she heard Yantze cough, and turned to find him wide eyed in shock; sometimes circumstances were a better teacher than an order. "That's why I don't want civilians out here."

"Yes Ma'am." The young man turned quickly and began to round up the searchers as Alicia reached the hole in the fence.

"Its been cut, see the tool marks." She pointed them out to Skye, the young soldier was hers and Skye was going to learn to track. The young woman's position in the colony was still off balance, Alicia knew the military was her escape and the girl was smart; she could learn. "Someone did this intentionally."

"DO you think we can find her?"

"Yes, and we have the time advantage. Whoever took Sara doesn't know that we were out here, or that the outpost was going to have trackers nearby." Alicia switched on her torch, the ground was torn up, but she followed the path anyway, eyes scanning the ground and then the scrub.

"It's compromised, people have been all through here." Skye murmured, looking down as she followed. "Why didn't the radio us?"

"Because they panicked, and the only officer out here is young and inexperienced in search operations. That's for me to handle and when we find Sara I will." She moved easily in the jungle, holding the weapon and light together, sweeping the path ahead of her.

As they moved past where the searchers had stopped the track became clear, someone had scouted this route for a while before making their move. Alicia picked up her pace, leaving Skye behind as she broke out into a flat-out sprint. They had a time advantage but at some point, there was going to be a transport waiting.

Her heart pounded, as she realized she could hear water running she eased her pace; she could hear arguing. Alicia eased to the tree line and watched one man argue with one in a boat, a canoe like the Seagoers used. She wanted proof that the Phoenix had found friends and now she had.

Alicia fired a shot into the sky, both to mark her position and draw their attention. The mercenary had the young scientist slung over his shoulder and it slowed his response. "Put the girl down and back away. I just want the girl."

With a snarl the man dropped Sara Cairns who yelped as she hit the ground, the pirate fired an arrow at her. Alicia growled as the arrow missed and fired at the mercenary who was the greater threat, one jumped into his boat and the Phoenix tried to follow, floundering in the water until the man pulled him into the boat; the currents pulling them away from her. Alicia chose to focus on the girl, there would be a time to deal with them later.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to hossfan, metube and jag389 for taking the time to review. I am sorry for the long wait on this one, I will probably be posting this one kind of slowly.

 **Chapter One**

He switched positions easily, an open-handed slap sent Alicia back a step and he took the weakness she showed to get her by the throat and push her back into the wall. Her hands beat off his side and back as he held his wife firmly in place. It took a moment to capture and restrain her wrists before he hauled her up onto his shoulder and pivoted to make a clean get away.

The people in the plaza watched, eyes wide with shock as the group of young women sitting on the rocks looked terrified. That they had come to this disgusted him, it was this part of humanity he had hoped to leave in the future, but it was a reality of their life and had to be dealt with.

"And that is how easily it can happen, in less than thirty seconds you can see him, and he can have you restrained and be on his way." Alicia spoke calmly, still draped over his shoulder, rear end in the air and not concerned. "Making noise might slow him down but self defense is the only way to get out of there; and contain the threat."

While he didn't enjoy parts of the first scenario it ended with his wife in his arms, and if she didn't want to do the demonstration she wouldn't allow him to get even the first hold. He had been drafted into it because their soldiers were too scared to slap or manhandle their CO, even knowing she was allowing it for a purpose.

Alicia Taylor, still Wash to most, could wipe the floor with even their most experienced soldiers; and in a fair fight the two of them would still end on a draw most days. But the soldiers, and the civilians, colony, sixer and sea goer were wise enough to be afraid of her and feel safe because of her. His wife didn't stay down or give up and had the scars to prove it.

A recent string of attacks at the out posts and even their own border had her furious, and he pitied the parties responsible when she finally got her hands on them. Two young women had been abducted from the sixer camp just inside their northern boundary and another who had been on a horticultural apprenticeship at Outpost four. It had been a supply run Wash had been running with a group of privates who tracked and found the apprentice, the abductor escaped. But the sixer girls were gone; by the time Mira's runners arrived, and the trail contaminated by well meaning searchers.

Nathaniel Taylor had wondered about this, a part of him had even expected it sooner; but he was still disgusted by it. And so, he repeatedly assaulted his wife, and then was properly punished as she demonstrated self defense to their young audience; only his punishment was repeated until all the pairs spread through the plaza were repeating the movements to her satisfaction. There were some days when that took some time, and Alicia wasn't pulling punches, thankfully she wasn't putting much weight behind the moves, but he was still plenty sore when they were done.

"Do not hesitate and do not second guess." Alicia issued the warning as an order; her eyes scanning the young faces in front of them, Nathaniel added his own reassurances. "Take caution and be safe rather than sorry. A decent man will not hold your response against you, he will be glad you can defend yourself; if he isn't report him to me and he will learn."

That got a nervous giggle from the young women as they began to disperse, and he rested a hand on his wife's back as they turned for the stairs. "You alright?"

"I hope you aren't set on more children; I may not be able to contribute my half." This was their fifth session, and he hoped the last one. He took no issue with self defense, it was a good thing, but the moves Wash was teaching were targeted and after five days he was a little sensitive.

"Will that be your opinion tonight? Elisabeth and Jim are keeping Cullen tonight, Zoe is working on her science project." Alicia teased, and he growled, it was not often they got a night of peace since their son became a toddler.

"I still object to our child being a science experiment." He rubbed a gentle hand along the cheek he had struck earlier, neither of them were using much force in their demonstrations but he had bruised her, whether he had used too much force in one of the rounds or from the repetition he didn't like it.

"It's a roots of empathy project, she is not experimenting on him." Alicia fully supported the project, while he had objected from the start, when their son was only two months old.

"Take him into the classroom and make him put on a show of everything he's learned in the past few months while kids take notes. Sounds like an experiment." He didn't get the purpose of it, teach the kids bullying was wrong, teach them that they would be punished if they harassed another student; and make sure the parents understood they were as responsible as their children.

Somehow learning how babies grew up was supposed to make them value differences, for some it might work but he had a feeling he could be more persuasive than his son. But Zoe loved Cullen and didn't have a younger sibling to document, so he resorted to giving his wife a hard time.

"I've got a patrol working North, I spoke to Blade and Terrell, we need to get a better understanding of what is going on beyond our border." Alicia spoke setting a file on his desk. "I want Reynolds."

"That means we will have Maddie in here every day." He sighed, Reynolds had taken over Guzman's unit when the man moved to running the Out posts, but, he was still Wash's and a solid soldier.

"No, you will have Maddie in here every day." His wife smiled, the young woman might be a soldier's wife, but she did not take Mark's absences well. Nathaniel knew he would be blamed, and given she had to report to him anyways it would be her excuse.

"You know that is only the start. We still don't know where this other group is based or how many of them there are." Given Alicia would escape to the sea goers camp he would be left to deal with the young woman.

"We know how to find out." And her eyes glittered with excitement as he began to shake his head.

"No, if we go that route now one of us needs to go. It would be like the badlands again. We have established our borders." Nathaniel argued, she wanted to go, he could see it in her eyes. For nearly six months she had said nothing about going off colony, she had been developing their borders, training and building relationships with the Seagoers; and focused on their son. "Not yet."

It would be her, he didn't deny that. Of the two of them she was the one who should go, Nathaniel's priority had become administration, and with the growing interests of the colony and their allies he had plenty to handle. But more than that he wasn't ready to single parent for a month or two while she was off colony, he would miss her and so would their young son.

"Can we table this discussion? I will stop by the market and meet you at home." He had a few things to take care of before he hit the market, one being the science division.

As she nodded, still engrossed in the file she was reading he slipped away. Malcom Wallace would not be thrilled to see him today, there would be no more bullying young apprentices into posts they did not want. The girl Alicia had rescued had been terrified to be OTG but hadn't felt she had a choice and that would end; it would be years before Sara Cairn felt safe again OTG.

And as much as he enjoyed threatening Wallace for all the headaches he caused it was a serious issue; no more kids going to the Northern border, and only women who were fully briefed on the risks. Getting that through Wallace and several other lead scientists heads took some time.

He was late as he arrived at the market and purchased zip steaks and veggies to grill then detoured to Boylan's. If the Shannon's were keeping Cullen tonight Elisabeth would feed their son formula or let Zoe do it and Alicia could enjoy a drink with him tonight.

Nathaniel was hustling, trying to beat her home and there was a woman on their step; but it wasn't his wife. Maddie Reynolds paced back and forth in their doorway and he felt his shoulders slump; he hadn't even shipped her husband OTG yet.

"Mrs Reynolds, what can I do for you?"

"I, uh, is Wash home?" The girl barely paused before launching into a ramble. "I know I should just go, I just wanted to talk to Alicia before I…"

"Alicia will be home soon, come on in." He moved around her to open the door and drop his bag in the kitchen. Maddie was a good kid, smart as a whip but when she was nervous she rambled; and he made her nervous. Somehow, Alicia had become a confidant for the young woman.

He let the girl settle on the couch and intercepted his wife. "You have company waiting."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Two

It had been a long day, and the look on Nathaniel's face warned her that it was Maddie and it was personal; only reason he would be retreating into the office. She began to pull off her armour as she sat across from Maddie. "What's up Maddie? Something going on with Mark?"

"Well, no, but kind of. Um, are we?" She glanced down the hall where Nathaniel had disappeared.

"Nathanial is in the office; he isn't listening." But she noticed that the girl's hand had slid to her belly.

"I think I might be pregnant." Maddie spoke so softly that Alicia barely heard her. "If I do a scan at work or in the infirmary my mum will know; and my dad will hit the roof even if I'm not. If I am, I don't want to stop working."

"Okay." She was not going to get into this mess; not between mother and daughter. "Let's get you tested, then you know what you need to do."

Somehow her old emerg scanner kept on working, and she guarded it carefully against tampering. Wallace wanted to get his hands on it to test what the core was made of as promethium cores, chips, and battery cores continued to fuse or die throughout the colony. That it kept working was a small miracle, and if she gave it up for testing she knew it would likely come back busted.

She fetched it from her kit and brought it out, aiming it steadily at Maddie's stomach; the girl watching her nervously. As it beeped and began to read the data she eased back onto her heels to wait while it whirred away. And as the result came in she winced, now she needed to strong arm the girl into talking to her mother.

"You are pregnant Maddie, about six weeks. That's all I can tell from this type of scan." And now to push the girl to her mother, before she got caught up into a mess she wasn't ready for. "If you go see your mum she will be able to tell you a lot more."

"I will, I just, I don't want my mum to cut me open." Maddie's arms cradled her belly and the baby that was only beginning to grow there.

"You've a long time yet before you have to worry about that." She was not adding fire to that argument, not now; later perhaps she would talk options with her. After she spoke to her mum.

It took a little longer to reassure Maddie and get her nudged towards the infirmary and her mother. If the girl backed out she would rather go for a jungle run than deal with a ticked off doctor and sheriff. Nathaniel emerged from hiding looking a little smug for her liking, he had a decent idea of what that had been about and wisely poured her a glass of wine before snooping.

"I could go for something stronger." She murmured, that had been uncomfortable to say the least.

"Not given you will be breastfeeding again tomorrow, but I sympathize." He smirked an she rolled her eyes, wine was a treat she could have as Cullen would be having formula tonight.

"Why do I have to be the go to? I do not want to come between Elisabeth and her daughter; can't turn the kid away either." He patted her shoulder in commiseration while blue eyes sparkled. Alicia rolled her eyes and downed her drink, pushing it back to him.

"You are safe, you can give her answers, and your reaction predicts her mother's." Nathaniel refilled her glass, drawing her back to the couch, it wasn't often they had an evening as a family, evenings just the two of them were very rare.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Three

Morning dawned early and without Cullen Alicia was a bit lost. Her morning routine was disrupted without her son and so she busied herself with a run around the perimeter. By the time she made it up to the Command Center her husband and Shannon had settled in for the day.

"I've got Terrell coming up this morning Alicia, I need you here for the meeting." Nathaniel spoke without looking up as she settled at her desk.

"Sure." She opened her own files, privately she hoped that he was considering the journey north. "But I want to run PT this afternoon."

"Your unit will be thrilled." She heard two chuckles and glared at Shannon.

"It is good for them." She muttered as she turned her attention to the reports; Guzman had forwarded her some data on the border when he had been up that way.

"I need to check a few things; can I have an hour?" This time glancing at her husband, who could chuckle all he wanted, she'd been on his unit; that's where she'd learned to lead.

He nodded, and Alicia gathered the reports and a map before escaping. Her first stop was the school, she just peeked in for a moment, reassuring herself that her son was safe before heading out to find Storme. She spent her free hour compiling all the information she could about the river that headed north until it hit the coast from someone who had traveled it.

Their map was basic, it had been graphed by repurposed atmospheric balloons and while it told them where there was land and water, and the sea level there were vast parts where the actual terrain was a complete mystery. They didn't know what lived in those lands, dinosaur, predator or human and it was the latter that worried her.

Their neighbors had explored some before they settled in, that knowledge was useful to them all now. But this would be a very different trip, this time the territory was potentially hostile and that was something that they needed to get through some heads; it was a different mindset than they had arrived with.

She returned to the meeting ready to plan, but it was hard to put her heart into it as this time she would be leaving more behind this time. It had been hard to be away from her husband for weeks on end leaving Cullen would be even harder.

To accurately map the area would take months of travel and no one was eager to be away long enough to do it all at once; they would take multiple expeditions. The scale of the task became more evident with the map spread out before them.

Really, they only knew what lay South of the badlands, a small corner of their world. The routes to the West coast had opened up that corner but the East and the North were largely unknown and that was a problem that needed to be rectified.

Blade suggested dividing the territory by access points. It would be fastest and easiest to travel by water, becoming used to their technology the younger of the Seagoers' leaders was learning to use it. Their maps did show the rivers and water ways winding throughout the land mass.

"There is no guarantee we will not face hard things and be forced to go around by land." The man leaned over the map as Nathaniel tried to teach him the concept of topographic mapping; that altitude and sea level changes could indicate obstacles.

"It is in our combined interest to know what is out there, where it is and how strong they are." The authority in her husband's voice was habit, his words were only met with nods of approval.

Then the details began to come together, they set to work dividing the territory and isolating large rivers that should carry them deep into the land mass. They had to avoid the coastline, the small crafts the Seagoers used would not hold up in the open waters and strong currents.

"We will only want a small party, strong warriors." Terrell, the more cautious of the two leaders warned, the Seagoers had made these journeys before; it would be hard.

"We've a few soldiers in mind, Wash will lead the team." Nathaniel agreed, though that list now had to be reconsidered.

"I will go as a guide." Blade volunteered, he seemed eager for the adventure and Alicia knew he was the one who led most of the hunting parties for the camp.

There was no resistance to their plans for her to lead, Terra Nova's strength was many times that of the Seagoers or the Sixers. It gave them an advantage in their alliances, but the respect was earned. But as they were all targets for their enemies, now more than ever, they were stronger together.

…

She watched from the brush as the man stood among the graves, he held the little baby close; speaking to him. After a little while later his wife joined him, they stood there together for awhile. She took the time to watch them, they were a strange pair; but a powerful one.

The woman's dark hair a contrast to his grey and visible proof of their age difference. Alicia Taylor was nearly twenty years younger than her husband, a strong warrior in her own right, yet leaned into him for comfort.

Their camp had not been here when the people in those graves had died, and the colony had faced the enemy that arrived here. That changed all their lives, it had taken time, but the Phoenix had come for them too; and so had Alicia Taylor.

That woman had come into their camp like a firestorm, one woman against so many soldiers and she had won. And convinced her father and uncle to move the camp down to the falling river. It was the farthest they had moved since the raids long before she was born.

The tall woman glanced towards the bush where she hid, and she hunkered down on instinct; there was no way she was visible here. But maybe her great grandma was right, and the woman was touched, they had made a weird friendship, often coming to the camp and sitting with the elders, listening to their stories; maybe the coleader of Terra Nova just liked old people.

Slipping away she eased back down the river and dove in, falling river was rocky and the fresh shallow water meant the bigger and dangerous fish could not come this far inland. Dad had taught her when it was safe to swim and when it was not, just as he had taught his daughters what plants were safe and how to anticipate a predator's next move in a fight; even that hadn't been enough to save Aike.

She knew it happened, her older sister had always been so bold and so strong; until Aike was gone. But their enemies had even taken Aike, it had been Alicia Taylor who brought her home; who fought for them when their warriors couldn't. Dad had taught her many things, but he could never teach her to fight, not like them; he'd never had to.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Four

He stood on the banks as he watched the Seagoers build the new canoes that would carry the team north in a few days. Blade was eager, he already had his work crews on it. The man was a few years older than Alicia and he longed for the adventure of it; it wasn't in him.

Not the way it used to be, not the way it was in his wife. He enjoyed being OTG, going to the coast for some fishing or to an outpost, and was frustrated by the fact that policy dictated he and his wife couldn't go together. And with the current feeling around the colony there were no exceptions.

But as he held his son and watched the work he was not sorry to be staying home. This trip was for the future, the future their son would know; he and Alicia had different roles to play in that. It was not easy for Alicia to be preparing for this, even if it was a week or so out; it would be hard to watch her go. But any desire he had to know this land was not linked to adventure but to security. If he could do one thing in this place it would be to make it strong and secure for the future.

His family was going to be different this time, just as this world was. The military could take a toll on families, they both knew just how much, he had lost his first and Wash had lost her parents. Cullen would have to know what they did, he would have to watch both of them leave him at times. But they had vowed one would always stay with their son, would make sure he knew how much he was loved no matter what.

And that overshadowed any desire he had to explore, and it dimmed Alicia's, but he could not let that fire go out in her; not only because they were co leaders but because he was her husband. He had to give her the security and the strength to enjoy the things that had built her skills, she'd given him so much already.

Shifting Cullen on his hip Nathaniel turned to head back along trail by the river, work was done for the day; at least according to the schedule. To bad his wife was little better than he was at sticking to schedules, she was pouring over her team in preparation for the trip. And she would be wanting to hold their son, taking every moment she could before leaving; he hadn't gone to daycare once this week. Shannon had teased her relentlessly about pouring over her work with a baby on her hip and playing with rosters while trying to convince Cullen he wanted his cereal.

One bit of knowledge was causing a little bit of havoc on that roster; however they didn't know if it was public knowledge yet. Skye Tate was on the list as Alicia's trainee, the position was teaching her a variety of skills that were vital to the military and carved a secure place for her in the colony. Reilly was on the list, and Reynolds; but that was up in the air.

There would be a team of Seagoers as well, Blade would be leading a team of his men. He paused as there was a splash on the other side; one of the Seagoers swimming. A hobby his wife had adopted but was not likely to gain popularity in the colony; what with the things that lived in the water.

A moment later Blade scrambled up the bank on their side, turning towards him. "Heus, Amicus."

"Hello Blade." He wasn't fluent in the language by any means, but he could manage and he knew that was a friendly greeting; and Blade's English was just fine. "How's the water?"

"Warm, it is a good time of year to travel." The man reached out and let Cullen grab at his fingers. "I have a favor I must ask you; Terrell will not."

"Shoot." Though he was cautious, he did not want to influence the Seagoer's leadership as he was sure that their independence, like Terra Nova's, was key to a strong alliance.

"My daughter, Kiire, I want her to come with us; I want her to learn what it will be to lead."

"Your team is your business, Wash was my second long before she was my wife; half her team will be women." That was not a concern he expected from that camp, there were moments when he suspected his wife had wished she was a Seagoer; especially when she had been pregnant.

"She is not part of my team; she is not yet a warrior. But she must be, she must learn to be!" Blade spoke firmly. "Her sister was, they were to lead together but Aike is gone and Kiire is fourteen summers. Terrell does not feel it is fair to burden our way with my child, not when we work with your people. But we agree that she must learn, Terrell, he lost his wife and he does not wish to marry again; Kiire will lead alone in her time. She must learn from strong warriors and she respects your wife; she could learn a lot from her. A hunt is far less a test than these journeys will be."

"Wash won't find her a burden." He licked his lips a moment as he held Cullen close. And if there was a soldier to learn from it was Wash; that young girl was going to have big shoes to fill one day. "Have Terrell talk to her."

…

She shifted the last name on her list again and winced; she didn't like the list. Tapping the pencil on the desk again she reconsidered her options on the roster, there were plenty of options, but she had gotten spoiled; she had her team.

But Alicia knew what the military could do to a family, even an expectant one, and it wasn't often they had the option to avoid it. As the door opened she glanced up and saw Elisabeth Shannon. "Hey."

"I saw the light on, I figured it was you; somehow men can always work at home while we end up with a million other things to do the moment we step in the door." Elisabeth invited herself in and dragged over the chair from Shannon's desk.

"I'm just trying to finalize a few things for our project." She glanced guiltily at her desk.

"About that, I know Maddie spoke to you." Elisabeth gave her a guilty look before grinning. "I wouldn't bring it up with Jim just yet, but I am excited."

"She was pretty nervous." Elisabeth was still grinning, clearly one of the expectant grandparents was thrilled. "It's a pretty challenging time, we both know that."

"And we were both a bit older, Jim was just getting used to his little girl being married now she is having her own baby; our seven year old will be an aunt. And she wants to take a page out of your book which may destroy my nerves. There is only so much I can do as it is." Elisabeth shook her head and Alicia winced, her choice had not caught on in the colony. Most women still went to Elisabeth for every procedure they could get and took just as many precautions; as though they were still living in the polluted world they left behind.

"She'll be fine, and she may change her mind; you've got some time to work on her; get Zoe working on it too." Zoe might be young but was going to be thrilled, a little niece or nephew was not a younger sibling but that little girl did not need a reason to spoil a baby; her own son was proof of that.

"Don't worry; I will." The woman's eyes glinted like steel for a moment before she glanced to the papers spread across her desk. "Back to what I shouldn't be asking…."

"I'm not planning to take Reynolds away from her; for Nathaniel's sake as much as hers." Alicia knew what she was going to ask and noted the tension in the woman's shoulders ease. "I'm figuring out the details of that now."

"Thank you, it wasn't my place to ask and he wouldn't thank me for it…"

"You never got that far." Alicia glanced sideways at her list again. "And we won't be able to accommodate him every time so this time we will."

"It can't be easy for you to be going either." Like she had a sixth sense her friend narrowed in on a sore spot.

"No, its not." Something she and her husband were both keenly aware of; but one of them had to go. And some how she wanted it more.

It wasn't right, she didn't want to leave her son, but she did enjoy the adventure of going OTG and exploring. Cullen's birth had changed that, it was different leaving her son than her husband, even just for a day or so; let along weeks on end. And she knew Nathaniel felt it, her husband and son were so close, perhaps it was because he had lost Lucas or that he was older than he had been, but his goals for this colony and this world had been doubled while the distance he wanted to travel had shrunk. At least the distance without Cullen, she did wonder if the story might change as Cullen grew.

"Don't worry about Cullen, or Nathaniel; we will make sure they are looked after." Elisabeth squeezed her arm.

"What if Cullen forgets me? I'll be gone for a month at a time and I don't know what I'd do if my baby made strange when I picked him up." The words tumbled out, that was a real fear; one she wasn't willing to voice to Nathaniel. She didn't want him to feel they had to trade spots or have regrets about sending her.

"He is old enough that won't happen, and we will make sure he is reminded of you often." The words were reassuring but it didn't make her feel any better. "And it is only temporary."

"I have to make at least six trips." Her smile was forced, this was not a small undertaking and it was not routine; there were innumerable factors that could impact their plans.

The woman squeezed her arm again, this time there weren't words, but she understood. After a bit conversation circled back to the impending arrival and Alicia packed up as they talked; it was past time for her to get home. They walked together part of the way before heading to their units, Alicia detoured along the fence for a moment to look across at the work that had been done across the river; each day they got a little closer to leaving.

The sensation of being watched hit her again, making the spot between her shoulders itch but she shrugged it away. She wasn't sure what to make of it, other than she'd been cooped up too much; it wasn't new. In the colony there were always people around, and she knew her position made her notable for a variety of reasons. It didn't stop her doing a scan of the area, reflex or habit; it had been happening a lot lately.

Turning away she crossed to their unit and was greeted by a fussy baby and tired man. Rocking Cullen she took over the bottle of nut milk, their son was not on board with the idea of being weaned; and her attempting it was worse than Nathaniel's attempts.

Looking at her husband she could only sigh, it wasn't ideal. But Cullen was more than old enough and soon he wouldn't have an option. Nathaniel took him back and rocked him to sleep before gently laying him in his cot. "He will drink the milk when he gets hungry enough; he will be fine."

She smiled at her husband's reassurances, but it didn't stop her body's response. They had been weaning him gradually, but Cullen did not like the last of his nursing sessions being removed. As they left the bedroom they switched gears. "I've finalized my list, Tate, Reilly and Dunham; he's solid and Reilly trained him they know how to watch each other's back."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Five

Walking with Nathaniel they were shown the work that had been done, the small boats were ready to go. Different than the canoes they usually saw in use the small ships were equipped with sails to let the wind work and oars when they had to do the work.

Blade and Terrell walked with them explaining how the crafts would work, where to stow their gear and how to take shelter if they were attacked. Two crafts were going, their team of eight was small but strong. Their first expedition was going to be a test for them all, of their ability to work together as well as the crafts.

"You should leave on Monday then." Nathaniel glanced between her and the Seagoers to confirm their agreement. "Take the weekend to make any last minute changes or additions."

She frowned a little, it was not as though she hadn't undertaken exploratory trips before; the preparations had been made. Their teams were on standby, the gear had been double checked but as Blade shuffled his feet she realized it might not be her who he was worried about.

Terrell sighed, and the younger leader gave him an irritated look and the two switched languages for a quick exchange that she had no hope of catching; then the older leader shrugged and looked to her. "We will be followed by Blade's daughter Kiire, she has not yet proven herself a warrior, but he would like to bring her with you. She must become strong if our people will accept her."

"Is there space for her?" She knew Kiire, and she knew why they worried about the girl. It had been Kiire's older sister who first led them to the camp, the younger one was young and shy. The man nodded. "She rides with me, and she bunks with me, we find trouble you need to think straight…."

"She is her father's responsibility, not yours and certainly not…"

"If we get into trouble I want her with me." Alicia cut him off, she was firm on that.

If the girl was with her father both would be distracted, if the girl was with her the man would fight harder to make it out the other side and see that she was safe.

"Monday, oh five hundred." Nathaniel confirmed, glancing around the group before they walked away.

He went back to the office to pick up a few things while she took Cullen home. Setting him down to play on a blanket on the bedroom floor she took down her pack, opened up the compartments and began to pack.

She'd done it many times before, but this was the first time her son was trying to help. Now able to pull himself up Cullen tugged the pile of clothes she set on the bed down, selected a tank and dragged it back to his blanket.

"I need that." She laughed before trying to reclaim it.

"No!" Cullen protested.

"What does it say about us that 'no' is our son's favorite word?" Her husband stepped in and scooped up their son; who protested that as well.

"That he's going to be as stubborn as you." She laughed, laying out the weapons she wanted to take now that Cullen was contained.

"Mhm, it me he takes after?" He frowned and reached into the lock case and added an extra blade to her kit. "I know you weren't planning to take a trainee on this project."

"We'll manage, and that girl needs to learn; she's got big shoes to fill." Kiire was a quieter girl who liked the shadows and worried her great grandmother; to lead her people the girl had to become a warrior. "I do need to ask this though; can they challenge her? The camp leadership has been stable as long as we've known them, but clearly they are thinking about it, I don't know exactly how their succession works and I hesitate to ask. We have the military."

Someday they would have the option of retirement, they would choose it and train their replacements. Knowing her husband, he wouldn't retire until he had to, not unless something happened to one of them, and when that day came she had a feeling she would step back with him; and hope their replacements could tolerate some interference. In truth she had a feeling they both had a few ideas on who those kids might be.

She had some suspicion that the Seagoers could not wait for their leaders to choose retirement, she knew how much they prized fighting ability and strength; in both their young men and women.

"I don't know, but it certainly is on their agenda." Nathaniel sighed, she knew he worried too, there would be succession changes in all of their camps as time went on; and those changes could affect the lines of their alliances if transitions weren't smooth. "Doing this project, doing it together is a good thing."

"Mira's been quiet about it." That surprised her a little, especially as the woman had struggled for her place in the alliance and everyone was aware of the reason why.

"She isn't going to admit they don't have the means for it and I don't think she is keen to face Carter again." Nathaniel sighed, taking Cullen out to his play pen in the living room. "We need to look at something out there, but I will take care of that."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Six

The weekend flew by and early Monday morning he watched by the shore as the team loaded into the ships. His wife looked slightly amused at the young girl who hustled up behind her. Kiire stood out not only for her age but her excitement among the rest of the team preparing with calm, precise moves.

Alicia was the last to step into boat, their eyes met for a moment and she nodded; it would be the last he saw of her for weeks. They had said their good byes this morning in the privacy of their home, holding their son just a little tighter. Nathaniel wasn't fooling himself, it was different now; and he was not going to miss her as much as Cullen was.

The Shannons had stepped up, offering to help with Cullen but even if he was in over his head Nathaniel was hesitant to accept. With one parent away, he was not about to pass Cullen off, even to people he trusted; but he expected the next couple weeks to be rough.

Parenting came naturally to Alicia, despite whatever she said; he found the connection a little tougher some days. His past made it tougher, Lucas' life and his death made it difficult, and as he watched his wife disappear down river felt it come back; their careers contained risk and always would.

He dropped their son off at daycare and headed towards the Command Center, Guzman would be back on base tomorrow and he still had two field reports to review; and Mira was coming in today. He'd had the suspicion that the Sixers were having a hard time for a while now, but he wanted Alicia focused on her project and when Mira wasn't eager to address it he had let it wait for their business to get underway. Things would never be easy between Mira and Alicia, and he would never fully trust the Sixer leader either; but alliances were critical and personal feelings had to be carefully kept to the side.

He read the reports quickly, making mental notes to discuss with Guzman later. Then went down to the fence, Mira would be punctual, and he watched as her team walked along the road, coming in from the wall. They knew they could be watched here and he could see that they were uneasy.

"Mira." He stepped out and tipped his head, beckoning the woman to him; letting her people see her go to him. "Your friends can wait in the square."

"We heard your wife took a party north this morning." Mira was eying him, something was playing on her mind.

"She did."

"You have a way of reaching her?" He raised an eyebrow at her question and said nothing; some things were not up for discussion. "She may have friends in the area, a girl out planting went missing yesterday afternoon. We don't know what happened, but our searchers came up empty."

"Could it have been voluntary?" Mira shrugged, and he considered it, the Sixer's trackers were good, it was hard to move through the jungle without leaving a trail; a good tracker needed next to nothing. "Now, that quarry."

Mira's wince told him enough, they had claimed the quarry because of the resource it could be; but as the needs of the colony changed so did the significance of the rock quarry. While they built the wall they'd had a trade agreement, before that they'd often bartered for ore but as their sources of technology shifted the need for the ore decreased to almost nothing.

The quarry was labour intensive and dangerous to operate for little reward, but with where their camp had been built, and the territory it limited them. It was steep, rocky with dense foliage, which meant foraging was more practical than farming and it was smack in the middle raptor territory. But with what the Sixers had survived he suspected that it was far from the Phoenix and Carter's outlaws made it feel safe to them; they had backed the wrong side in Terra Nova's first war and that could not be changed.

"No chance you have some great need for stone again is there?" Mira shook her head, kicking the dirt; none of them could have foresaw that such a resource would be replaced by hydro.

"No, but I do wonder if your sentries have had any trouble?" But their power stations were now primarily water driven and it was sensible given their proximity to the river and the recurring sonic blasts; chips and electronics were too vulnerable. He didn't however, know the state of the Phoenix's technology; and clearly, they were comfortable travelling this far when it suited them.


End file.
